In Warframe some of the titular Warframes are getting a major redesign this year. Some will receive improvements, while others were too strong and will be toned down. The community is hotly debating the planned changes.
Warframe is named after the biomechanical suits with which you slice through hordes of enemies. But not every frame is created equal, and among the soon-to-be 35 examples, some are clear winners or losers.
Therefore, the developers want to completely redesign a total of 9 Warframes in 2018.
Better Balance for 2018
In a detailed forum post, the developers at Digital Extremes revealed their plans for rebalancing the Warframes. The following changes are included.
Ash – No more passive watching!
Ash’s “Bladestorm” ability was strong, but it forced the player to watch. In the meantime, Ash handled enemies himself with his “clones”.
In the new version, the clones are supposed to act independently of Ash himself. You can then do something else or use other skills.
Atlas – More Tankiness and Synergy
This bulky Warframe has been barely played so far and will receive several buffs. His skills will generally improve and provide more synergy. For example, his ability “Landslide” now deals more damage to enemies he has petrified.
Petrified enemies leave new resources called rubble, which regenerate Atlas’s hitpoints and improve his armor at max HP.
Banshee – No more the most boring OP ability in the game
Banshee’s ultimate “Resonating Quake” was, according to the developers, one of the “most boring” skills of all time. Because you basically had to do nothing but cast the skill in the center of the map, and the enemies would die in a wide radius of the ability.
This was simply boring, especially for teammates who rarely saw an enemy. Therefore, the new Resonating Quake is a skill that you no longer need to channel. Instead, it activates at the place where you triggered it. The new skill lasts shorter, has more range, and less damage in the outer area.
Chroma – Finally calculated correctly
The dragon Warframe Chroma was far too strong due to a calculation error. Unlike all other frames, the boosts for his skill “Vex Armor” were calculated BEFORE the calculation of upgrades, unlike the rest of the Warframes.
As a result, Chroma was far too strong. He will still be a top DPS frame, and Vex Armor will become an aura that benefits all players in the team.
Ember – No more permanent “World on Fire”
Similar to Banshee, Ember is a heavily overpowered Warframe. With her ability “World on Fire”, she just ran through entire levels, and enemies only melted around her. Her teammates saw hardly any enemies at all!
Therefore, the skill now has a percentage value that increases with more use. The percentage indicates how much more energy the skill costs. This should prevent it from being permanently activated. Additionally, the range has been halved.
Gara – Stronger Glass Walls
Gara has a useful skill called Mass Vitrify. She covers enemies in the vicinity with glass and creates a glass wall in the area. This wall was simply too weak in the endgame.
Now, the strength of the wall scales with the hitpoints and shield values of the glassed enemies. This makes the wall significantly stronger when you trigger it in the heat of battle.
Mag – More Synergy and Accessibility
The starter Warframe Mag was already revised in 2016, but the developers were not completely satisfied so far. Therefore, Mag now receives a buff on the skill “Polarize” and a healing effect on “Crush”. This allows her to regenerate the shields of her teammates and creates more synergy in the team.
Volt – More Damage, Less CC
The electric Warframe Volt is getting more punch for his skill “Discharge”. The damage cap has been removed and the base damage has nearly doubled from 750 to 1,200. However, damage and the stun effect at medium and long range have noticeably decreased.
Zephyr – A completely new skill!
Zephyr was originally intended as a mobile Warframe with many jumping skills. However, nowadays many other frames are similarly mobile thanks to the parkour system 2.0. Therefore, she is getting a completely new skill called “Air Burst”.
With it, she can fire an air projectile that knocks enemies down and makes Zephyr’s tornadoes even larger. To make room for the new skill, the former skill “Dive Bomb” has a new application area within her ability “Tail-Wind”. Depending on the direction you’re looking, your maneuver will now be either a longer jump or a slam attack on the ground.
Changes Divide the Warframe Community
These changes were presented on Friday, and the players of Warframe have been intensely discussing them since then. The official forum thread has over 100 pages. Many players have a close relationship with their favorite Warframe. The community is quite divided on this matter.
Some players see changes to numerous Warframes as nerfs, just as many see them as buffs.
It can be assumed that the planned adjustments are still in flux. A lot could still change regarding the changes.
The new Warframe Khora is delayed. She also needs a rework.
